Friday, September 13, 2013

California Rushing Headlong Toward Draconian Gun Control

On August 12 Breitbart News reported that California was set to become the strictest gun control state in the country with an ammunition registry. It has since become apparent that such a registry is only the tip of the iceberg.

Other bills speeding toward Governor Jerry Brown's (D) desk all but guarantee CA residents will be subjected to draconian gun regulations and all out bans if Brown does anything other than veto them.

The NRA-ILA provided convenient summaries and status reports on the various bills after the legislature had done its work last week.

Here are few examples:

Senate Bill 475 is on its final reading in the Assembly. If passed and signed into law it will allow "San Francisco officials to effectively ban gun shows and the sale of firearms in the Cow Palace at the Fairgrounds."

Senate Bill 374 passed in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on August 13 and is now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It "expands the definition of 'assault weapons' to include all semi-automatic rifles that accept a detachable magazine." It would "ban the sale and possession of all semi-automatic rifles and require registration to retain legal possession in the future."

Assembly Bill 48 was placed "in the state Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file and will be heard later this month." It "bans the sale of magazine parts kits that could hold more than ten cartridges and requires mandatory reporting...of citizens who purchase more than 3,000 rounds of ammo within a five day period."

Assembly Bill 231 passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee and "is now on its final reading in the state Senate." This bill "expands laws related to the storage of firearms" and will effectively require gun owners to lock up their guns when they are not home. It does this by using muddled language to create a felony charge for anyone who "reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or guardian."

The meaning of the words "reasonably should know" will no doubt mean different things to different judges and law enforcement officials throughout the state. And this will only create greater chaos for gun owners in California.

Firearms Policy Coalition has provided a web-based form Californians can use to urge Governor Brown to veto these and other gun control proposals. View the form by clickingHERE